On
May 16, 2005, rather than lose its press pass, Newsweek fell on its
sword and retracted its story about U.S. investigators confirming the
desecration of the Koran by U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo. Following
the story's publication on May 9, 2005, anti-American riots erupted in
Afghanistan and throughout the Muslim world and anti-Newsweek riots
erupted throughout the White House and Pentagon.

Bush & Co. blame Newsweek for
damaging the image of the U.S., as well as for causing the deaths of at
least sixteen Muslims outraged by the allegations. The damage to the image
of the U.S., however, was accomplished long before the Newsweek
story came out and it was done by the very people trying to pin the blame
on Newsweek.
Those same people caused the deaths of thousands of Muslims by way of
smart bombs and precision strikes.

But I digress.

Whatever the inaccuracies of the Newsweek
story, the fact of the matter is that numerous sources have independently
alleged that the U.S. has desecrated the Koran as an interrogation
technique in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and other detention facilities.

Former prisoners at Guantanamo have alleged,
in statements compiled by the Center for Constitutional Rights, that
guards and interrogators abused the Koran as part of the interrogation
process. As part of the composite statement obtained by CCR, former
detainee Asif Iqbal claimed that guards at Guantanamo "would kick the
Koran, throw it into the toilet and generally disrespect it."

Likewise, in a lawsuit filed by the American
Civil Liberties Union on behalf of individuals formerly detained by the
U.S., the plaintiffs also alleged intentional desecration of the Koran by
U.S. forces. For instance, the plaintiffs accused U.S. forces of
"Repeatedly desecrating the Quran in the presence of Plaintiff Arkan M.
Ali and other detainees to demean and degrade them, including having a
military dog pick up the Quran in its mouth." U.S. forces are also accused
of "Desecrating the Quran in the presence of Plaintiff Sabbar and other
detainees to demean and degrade them, including throwing the book to the
floor and stepping on it."

Furthermore, in an April 11, 2005, interview
with the Moroccan newspaper La Gazette du Maroc, former Guantanamo
detainee Mohamed Mazouz described desecration of the Koran by U.S. forces.
According to Mazouz, "They urinated over it, they ripped it; they cut it
with scissors in front of us. They defecated on it and painted our faces
with it."

In October 2003, representatives of the
International Committee of the Red Cross met with Defense Department
officials regarding the detention practices and facilities at Guantanamo.
During that meeting, the ICRC expressed its "serious concern with the
treatment of the Koran in the camps." Despite denials by Defense
Department officials that any mistreatment of the Koran ever took place,
the ICRC remained concerned.

Perhaps most damning, however, is the sworn
statement from June 2004, obtained by the ACLU, of a civilian member of
the Mobile Training Team from Ft. Huachuca who assessed the interrogation
operations at Abu Ghraib. In his statement, the civilian recounts a
conversation he had with a "motivated and enthusiastic interrogator" at
Abu Ghraib. According to the civilian's statement, "On one occasion, I had
a conversation with [REDACTED] concerning the [Intelligence Rules of
Engagement] and interrogation approaches. I gave him examples of
approaches including the Pride and Ego Down where and (sic) interrogator
took a Koran, threw it on the floor and stepped on it ...."

According to the statement, "The
conversation was meant to explain why these activities were prohibited or
restricted." Nonetheless, the very fact that the conversation took place
and that the civilian felt it necessary to advise the interrogator against
stomping on the Koran as an interrogation technique, would seem to
indicate that such techniques had been previously employed. The civilian
assessor did not pull out of thin air the "Pride and Ego Down" technique
of stomping on the Koran; he was aware of its use, as well as its
offensive nature.

Inasmuch as Newsweek is being blamed
by Bush & Co. for tarnishing the pristine image of the U.S., perhaps it is
worth examining exactly what Newsweek reported then later
retracted. In its very brief (320 words) story of May 9, 2005, Newsweek
reported that U.S. investigations of interrogation abuses at Guantanamo
"have confirmed some infractions alleged in internal FBI e-mails that
surfaced late last year." In one such unreported case, "interrogators, in
an attempt to rattle suspects, flushed a Qur'an down a toilet and led a
detainee around with a collar and dog leash."

There was really nothing new about
Newsweek's story, other than the fact that it reported that U.S.
investigations confirmed prior allegations of Koran desecration. Not
surprisingly, the White House and Pentagon were and are unwilling to admit
that the U.S. would stoop to the desecration of the Koran. Indeed, the
U.S. vehemently denies that it has ever and would ever do such a thing.
Unfortunately, the U.S. has zero credibility on the matter in light of its
initial attempts to deny the rampant abuse and torture perpetrated by U.S.
forces at Abu Ghraib. Therefore, the dismissals by the White House and
Pentagon of Koran-desecration allegations as "not credible" are themselves
not credible.

Maybe Newsweek screwed up. That screw
up, however, was not the cause of the riots and deaths throughout the
Muslim world. Rather, the all-too-well-documented abuse, torture, and
disrespect by U.S. authorities of Muslim detainees was the cause.
Newsweek was merely the messenger (one of many). Bush & Co., however,
created the message. And while Newsweek may be guilty of getting
some details wrong, Bush & Co. are responsible for the message and all of
its bloody ramifications.